‘I wouldn’t be reading anything massive into Louth’s result with Dublin'

There were many members of the Gaelic football fraternity who were full of admiration for the the way Louth players stood up to the Dublin juggernaut in the Leinster SFC final the other week - and among them was a true hero of the game in the Wee County, Paddy Keenan.

A richly talented, strong, imposing midfielder, Keenan won Louth's first, and so far only, Gaelic football All-star in 2010, a feat that lunched him into the pantheon of greats. He also nominated for an All-star in 2007.

He retired from the inter-county scene in 2014 but still turns out for his club - St Patrick's of Lordship - at junior level. And, of course, he remains a Louth fan. Red to the core. Blood red.

Keenan watched, no doubt with considerable alarm, as Dublin strolled to a 21-point victory over his county in last year's Leinster final. Not only had they lost big time but manager Mickey Harte later stepped away to be replaced by Ger Brennan. More turbulence.

So despite a decent 2024 NFL Div 2 campaign (when relegation was avoided) it didn't auger well for Louth going in this year's Leinster final against the mighty Dubs yet the Wee County showed a grit, a resilience and resistance that gladdened Keenan's heart.

Sure, they lost but this time only by four points. Not only was it respectable it could be considered a moral victory of sorts. It was a hell of a lot better than the 16 point drubbing suffered by Meath when they met the same opposition just a few weeks previously.

"Mickey Harte walked away, and probably the manner in which he walked away, was hard to stomach for a lot of Louth fans and players as well. It was a big hit to the players but you have to give credit, not only to Ger Brennan, but to the players also," said Keenan.

"You can do all the training and coaching you like but at the end of the day the players have to cross the white line and do the business. Not only have they not taken a step back they have actually progressed this year."

During a chat with the Meath Chronicle, Keenan refers several times to the Louth players, eager to express his admiration for them. How committed they are. How they have physically and mentally came back from last year (when also they suffered heavy defeats not only to Dublin but Kerry also in the All-Ireland series).

His admiration for the players is deepened by the fact that he soldiered in the red jersey of his county for 12 years. He knows all about shipping heavy hits and bouncing back. How difficult it is.

"I have been in Croke Park against Dublin when we lost by seven or eight points, when we also lost by 12 or 13 points, it's very difficult to pick yourself up after that. So after losing by 21 points last summer to come out and give the performance they did in this year's Leinster final is tremendous. You can never underestimate how tough doing that is."

All of which gives Keenan cause for optimism going into the latest episode between Meath and Louth at Inniskeen - and yet he's cautious too. He points out how Louth's gritty display against the reigning All-Ireland champions will give the players deep-down confidence - and make them favourites in some people's view to win the Inniskeen game. It will, he points out, also make Louth a target for Meath to aim at.

"It's not very often Louth have being favourites over Meath in the last 50 years of so. This game is primed for Meath to cause an upset so I would be very cautious of what we can do. It's a derby game, a one-off. I wouldn't be reading anything massive into Louth's result with Dublin, anything can happen in a derby match."

The fact that the fixture is at Inniskeen underlines for Keenan the need for Louth to get their own ground sorted. The Co Board have done a lot in that regard in recent years, he says, but they need more help from the powers-that-be.

Keenan has plenty of previous when it comes to games with Meath. He was there in 2010 when Joe Sheridan's infamous goal denied Louth their first Leinster title in 50 years. It was a cruel blow sure but Louth were to have their revenge.

"I'd like to say we forgot about and moved on fairly quickly but unfortunately that wasn't the case, we lost to Dublin in the qualifier after that," he adds.

"We played Meath the following year in Breffni Park and they gave us a bit of a beating. That hit hard too, but in 2012 we played them in the league and they were relegated that day. That day we got the chance to right a few wrongs."

A director of Protection & Prosperity Financial Services, Keenan knows all about risk and reward, the percentages. He knows too how in the white heat of battle fortunes can fluctuate on the field of play. He wouldn't advise anybody to put their mortgage on the outcome of the game in Inniskeen. The margins will be tight, the outcome depending perhaps on a mistake or a piece of good luck.

He just hopes his team, the Wee County Reds, will, when all the talk and action is over, be celebrating a victory. Reaping a rich dividend, as it were, for all the effort invested.